Why we should listen to the cleaners on strike at the Maudsley hospital | Nadine Houghton

These women are showing us how to take the power back – their struggle is an inspiration for anyone who wants a fairer society

Leaving the house at 6am and heading to the Maudsley hospital in Camberwell, south London, to set up the picket line for today’s strike of cleaners and domestic staff, my anxiety was rising. Had we done enough? Would the workers have been persuaded by management to change their minds at the last minute and break the strike? Would it just be me on the picket line with a few GMB flags?

I needn’t have worried because by 7.30am more than 40 GMB union members had joined the picket. Waving their flags, chanting, shouting, laughing. Empowering each other, willing each other on with one simple goal – to win.